Trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar’s mother Manorama sent to 14-day judicial custody in case of threatening farmer

A court in Maharashtra’s Pune district on Saturday sent Manorama Khedkar, mother of controversial trainee IAS officer Puja Khedkar, to 14 days of judicial custody in the case of threatening a farmer.

Earlier today, Pune police produced Manorama Khedkar before the magistrate court in a case concerning alleged criminal intimidation tied to a land dispute. The Judicial Magistrate sent her to 14 days of judicial custody in the case.

Pune police booked Khedkar’s parents, Manorama and Dilip, besides four others after a video went viral on social media showing her allegedly threatening a farmer with a gun over a land dispute at Dhadwali village in the district’s Mulshi tehsil in 2023.

Earlier on Saturday, the prosecution informed the honourable court that they had recovered the pistol used in the crime.

The Khedkar couple and other accused were booked under IPC sections, including 307 (attempt to murder), 144 (unlawful assembly armed with a deadly weapon), 147 (rioting) and 506 (criminal intimidation), besides invoking the Arms Act.

Manorama was apprehended on Thursday morning from a lodge, where she was hiding, at Hirkaniwadi village near Mahad in Raigad district.

On Thursday, the sessions court granted Puja's father, Dilip, interim protection from arrest till July 25.

According to police, Manorama, Dilip and four others threatened one Pandharinath Pasalkar (65) with a gun over a land dispute at Dhadwali village in Mulshi tehsil on June 4, 2023.

Meanwhile, the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) filed a criminal case against Puja Khedkar for "misrepresenting and falsifying facts" following a "thorough investigation" into allegations of misconduct.

The Commission, in a statement, said Khedkar allegedly manipulated her identity to appear for the civil services examination multiple times, exceeding the permissible attempts

The UPSC has also issued a show cause notice regarding the cancellation of her candidature for the 2022 examination and is considering barring her from future exams, the statement added.